And the documents show PETA is running up other eye-watering bills for overheads largely paid for by charitable benefactors.

In 2015, PETA, now the biggest animal rights group in the world, received $63 million in grants and contributions.

Some $10.6 million went on wages for its army of staff, $1.4 million went to legal bills, and $16 million was simply listed as “other” functional costs–later defined to be consulting.

Nearly half of the $63 million – $29 million, or 45 percent – came from just six large donations. Those donations boosted its income dramatically what PETA received the year before.

Its staggering wages bill has increased in just 12 months by nearly $1 million from $9.8 million the previous year.

Wages alone now account for 17 per cent of the money it receives in contributions and grants.

PETA’s financial books paint a shocking picture which is likely to stun benefactors who may ask how much of their money is actually going on animal welfare.

PETA’s increasingly bizarre – and clearly expensive – publicity stunts in which it tries to woo celebrity and media attention have frequently backfired and raised eyebrows among would-be supporters.

And there have been disturbing accounts of how PETA activists have been behind the death of thousands of animals in the misguided belief they are better of dead than alive if it means living in zoos or other forms of human care.

Putting PETA’s books under the microscope also reveals in 2015-16 it spent $1,001,607 on travel and $4,048,350 on “postage and shipping.”

And $2,284,753 went on “printing,” $1,428,358 on “media & press support.”

The massive spends were confirmed by PETA president Ingrid Newkirk on March 17, 2017.

The organization records a “total assets” value of $39,583,908 at the end of the year with $13 million in the bank in cash. Its asset value has almost doubled from just $21,696,694 at the beginning of the year.

What the document highlights is the dramatically growing wealth of PETA – largely from charitable donations drummed up by its relentless pursuit of publicity and celebrity backers.

But the press and media campaigns have also been damaging to its reputation with a growing backlash putting its practices under the spotlight.

And in another stunt that went wrong, its bungling activists “rescued” lobsters from a restaurant only to release them into a river which proved fats because lobsters cannot live in freshwater.

The group faced further embarrassment when they claimed a computer game was cruel to cows.

When PETA’s 68-year-old president Ingrid Newkirk stripped off to be pictured hanging with meat carcasses in a US slaughterhouse for a vegetarian campaign the reaction from the public was underwhelming.

Many asked her to put her clothes back on and said her shock tactics were old and tired.